Picked up some more materials today from some local stores. First stop on my list was Joann’s – a local fabric store. I was armed with one 40% and 50% off coupon which scored me some premium felt, and some 15 gauge clear vinyl! Stuff came out to $24.00 after the coupons, so basically got the vinyl for free. Vinyl was actually fairly cheap, they had it at $5.99 a yard. They also offered 20 gauge, however it felt a bit too thick and more like a heavy-duty shower curtain which I didn’t like the feel too. Felt was a bit more at $7.99 a yard…

Next stop was the local Home Depot for some wood. I’m going to be building a bottom frame with 1 x 4’s, two 8′ boards running the length of the sheet of the plywood which will sandwich the sheet over top of the existing game table. Then I’ll cut and piece together more 1 x 4’s to go width wise, having the same effect. Think of a rectangular “tic-tac-toe” with the central space being the dimensions of my existing table. This will keep the sheet from moving and will provide from strength as well.

Finally, I’m going to use 1 x 2 hemlock to edge out the board. My thought process on this was a bit conflict, as I had mixed feelings, as did others, on a raised edge. My primary concern was resting my hand on the table. However, I’ve decided to go forward with it anyways. The primary advantage will be giving the table a nice look around the edge so you aren’t look at my sheet of plywood and more importantly, giving the vinyl sheet something to butt up against and prevent from moving; this is the primary reason for doing it. The overlap will only be about 3/4″ so not too significant. Here’s a shot of what it’ll look like.

Pricing on the lumber was around $6 per 1 x 4, and $5 per 1 x 2 hemlock. For the 1 x 4’s I’m just using your common pine board, and plan to round the edges near the edge of the sheet of plywood. Most likely will stain the outside edge of hemlock as well, prior to securing the felt. All said and done, I’ve got about $100 into it so far, and only need to get a spray adhesive for the felt, which will cost around $10.00. Going to screw the 1 x 4’s in, and use a brad nailer/finishing nailer to tack the 1 x 2 on the side. Now I just need to build it!

Related articles

• Wargaming Acquires Gas Powered Games (cedailynews.com)